Mayor Roel Wever was out early this morning to surprise 12 Heerlen citizens with an award. They were visited at home, at the playground, Nieuwe Nor, Culture House, etc. And that visit did not go unnoticed. The mayor arrived in style, namely in a special 1958 Rolls Royce. 

Following tradition, the newly-decorated were invited to an afternoon reception. They were received at the Council House at 1:30 p.m. In the presence of the College, the Orange Committee, the Children's College and former decorees, they were personally addressed here. Finally, a glass was raised to the newly-decorated and to King Willem-Alexander.

Mayor Roel Wever: "It is a tremendous honor for me to be able to put in the spotlight today so many special Heerlen people who work tirelessly for others and our beautiful city. I look forward to this special day every year. It is wonderful that we can show them in this way how much we admire and appreciate them."

Overview of the newly-decorated

Mr. H.G.M. (Henri) ter Huurne, 64 years old

Mr. Huurne has worked as a financial officer at
Open University in Heerlen since 1983. He is characterized as someone who always goes the extra mile. He organizes the annual staff activity within the department. He also develops/develops the following voluntary activities:

• 1984-present: treasurer of the (national) staff association Zomerweelde, part of the Open University (400 members). Involved co-organizes the activities, managing the finances (2 hours per week outside working hours). 
• 1995 - 2005: volunteer at and treasurer of the soccer club RKVV Heksenberg (300 members). Involved served as youth leader and canteen manager (13 hours per week). 
• 1998 - present: treasurer of the Heksenberg Community House Foundation. Responsible for contracts and contacts with suppliers, the municipality and the administration office. He also organizes the monthly dance night for seniors, takes care of marketing and maintains the website (10 hours per week). 
• 2006 - 2012: volunteer at the soccer club RKSV Groene Ster in Heerlerheide (membership unknown). Involved acted as youth trainer (5 hours per week). 

Mr. W.J.C. (Wim) Kortekaas, 77 years old 

Mr. Kortekaas was committed to the following activities: 

• 1974 - 2002 and 2011 - 2015: treasurer (1974-2002), secretary (2011-2015) of the PvdA, Heerlen branch, formerly Hoensbroek (2-5 hours per week). 
• 2006 - 2014: council member of the municipality of Heerlen. 
• 2007-present: co-founder, secretary of and volunteer with the Heemkundevereniging Hoensbroek (220 members). Involved organizes and leads excursions, gives lectures and is involved in various projects. He is also part of the editorial staff of the club magazine (10-15 hours per week).
• 2016 - present: board member (until July 2022) of and volunteer at St. John Evangelist Parish. Involved currently serves as general counsel (until 2022: 6 hours per week, now 2 hours per week).
• 2018 - present: board member of and volunteer with the Hub Cobben Prize Foundation in Heerlen, an annual award for Limburgers who have made meritorious efforts for social justice (4 hours per month).
• 2022 - present: member of the project National Program Heerlen North.
  Involved person collects and provides information on the history of neighborhoods (4 hours per month).

Mr. M.A.M. (Marc) Seelen, 72 years old

Mr. Seelen was employed by the regional development company LIOF until his retirement and engaged in/disposed of the following voluntary activities:

• 1991-present: volunteer at and board member (1993-1994, 2017-present), treasurer (1994-2000) and president (2000-2017) of the Koninklijke Fanfare Sint Joseph at Heerlerheide (110 members). Involved served as youth advisor and was/is responsible for recruiting and training youth members (8-12 hours per week).
• 1995 - present: secretary of the Foundation Financial Support Royal Fanfare Sint Joseph in Heerlerheide (110 members) (16 hours per year). 

Mr. W.M.F. (Wil) Bindels, 77 years old

Mr. Bindels was committed to the following activities:

• 1975 - 2011: volunteer at the soccer club RKSV Groene Ster in Heerlen (650 members). Involved was youth leader (until 1994), board member canteen/contribution (1994-1996), member of the youth board (1996-2011), youth chairman, also vice chairman of the main board (1996-2002) and board member general affairs (2002-2011) (10-15 hours per week).
• 2012 - present: secretary and second treasurer of the KBO, Heerlen Noord department (228 members). Involved makes the newsletter, takes care of membership recruitment and membership administration and he supports the organization of various activities. He also coordinates the volunteers (300 hours per year).

Mr. D. (Damian) Dijkhoff, 84 years old

Mr. Dijkhoff was committed to the following activities:

• 1990 - 1998: volunteer with the Dutch Red Cross, Boxtel-Liempde department. He was volunteer welfare (1990-1998), volunteer recreational activities (1999-2002), helper (1992-1993), helper and vg (1994-1996) and member of the medical platoon of North-East North Brabant (1996) (112 hours per year).
• 2003 - present: volunteer at the KBO Hoensbroek. As an elder advisor, he gives advice and support in filling out forms and referring people to the appropriate agencies (4 hours per week).
• 2007 - 2016: volunteer at the Stichting Dem Hoensbroek Centrum (part of the neighborhood-oriented work of the municipality of Heerlen). He provides hand and hand services at activities for the elderly and maintains neighborhood contacts (8 hours per week).
• 2014 - present: volunteer with the Party Hoensbroek Belang. He serves as an advisor in the field of the elderly.
• 2016 - present: board member of the ANBO Hoensbroek Lokaal. He makes the flyers for the day trips and theme days. Furthermore, he is the contact person in the individual processes for the WMO. He is also involved in the organization of the theme days (2 hours per month).
• 2018 - present: volunteer at the Ridder Hoen Park in Hoensbroek. He is involved in green maintenance and in devising and helping with events (4 hours per week).
• 2021 - present: volunteer at the community center Hoeskamer Butting Inn in Hoensbroek. He assists with the bingo and helps with events (8 hours per week).

Mrs. M.G.G. (Miek) Fleischeuer, 83 years old

Mrs. Fleischeuer was committed to the following activities:

• 1997 - present: volunteer at the care organization Sevagram in Heerlen. She supports in various activities at two care locations and at the elderly community in Welten of which she is also treasurer. She is also a member of the client council of Tobias (2022-present). Furthermore, she acted as a caregiver for some residents who no longer had family nearby and was a board member of the staff association of the Tobias care center. Finally, she was one of the initiators of the art project Social Sofa, a mosaic bench for residents in the neighborhood. She is never called upon in vain (12 hours a week).
• 1998 - present: volunteer with the carnival group Ummer Get Angesj in Heerlen (388 members). She picks up elderly people from nursing homes and provides them with a carnival afternoon. She also provides food at gatherings and does sewing work. In the past, she also performed as an entertainer (0.5 hours per week).
• 2001 - 2023: treasurer of the Senior Society St. Martinus Welten Benzenrade (85-32 members). She was also involved in the organization of various activities (10 hours per week). 

Mr. W.J. (Wim) Huisken, 66 years old

Mr. Huisken was committed to the following activities:

• 1997-present: volunteer at the Poppodium Nieuwe Nor in Heerlen, a platform for experiencing and renewing popular culture in Parkstad. Involved is member/head (since 2006) of the management and maintenance committee and handles repair, cleaning and construction work. In addition, he wrote the evacuation plan. He also distributed posters and took care of the financial administration (2001-2012). The person involved is described as a much-needed link (8-20 hours per week).

Mrs. M.R. (Mia) Jacobs-Hamaekers, 78 years old

Mrs. Jacobs-Hamaekers devoted herself to the following activities:

• 2001-present: secretary/second treasurer of the St. Caecilia Parochial Choir at Heerlerheide (38 members). The choir supports at Mass and at funerals. The person involved manages the membership file, is a source of questions, takes care of the ups and downs, maintains contact with the conductor and takes care of fund-raising activities. She also informs the members. (6 hours per week).
• 2008 - 2020: volunteer at the parish office of the Heerlen-North Parish Federation. Involved took care of the incoming and outgoing mail, answered the phone and e-mail, took care of the opening and closing of the Lady Chapel, rang the bells in case of a death and took care of the administration. She also coordinated the compilation of the parish magazine (4 hours per week).
• 2012 - present: supporter of her brother-in-law and her sister. The brother-in-law was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2012 after which he was admitted to a nursing home. The sister was diagnosed with dementia and was also admitted to another nursing home. The person involved made efforts to ensure that the couple could stay together in a double room. The person concerned consulted with institutions and doctors about care indications for both of them, washed clothes and bought clothes, accompanied them to medical appointments, did weekly visiting work and took care of the (financial) administration (8 hours per week).

Mrs. M.E.T. (Maria) Merken, 69 years old

Ms. Merken was committed to the following activities:

• 1970s: initiator and organizer of a babysitting center for children with disabilities.
• 1970s/80s: support worker for a colleague of her then-husband. 
• 1980s: caregiver of a middle-aged man with a mental disability, initiator and organizer of a preschool in Roermond, caregiver of her parents-in-law.
• Years 80/90: nanny mother of several children, initiator of a neighborhood association in Bunde and co-organizer of several activities, initiator and organizer of the St. Martin's Walk in Bunde, preparer and deliverer of hot meals for the elderly in Bunde.
• 1985 - 1988: organizer of the children's holiday week Bunde.
• 1985 - 1990: member of the parent council of St. Francis School in Bunde.
• 1990s: foster parent through XONAR foster care in South Limburg. She and her then husband formed a short-stay family for crisis care for children. It involved about twelve children. 
• 1993 - 2006: co-founder of and volunteer with Victim Support South Limburg. She supported crime victims emotionally, practically and legally. The care exceeded the strictly necessary and with several victims she is still in contact (at least 12 hours a week).
• 2000 - 2010 board member (2000-2005) and president (2005-2010) of and volunteer at the Judoclub Bunde (120 members). (15 hours per week), supporter of a man with a physical disability.
• Ca. 2000 - ?: caregiver to her own parents.
• 2002 - 2010: volunteer with the Opkikker Foundation. She committed 21 times as a family volunteer during the opkikker days in favor of the wishes of seriously ill children and their families (20 hours per month)
• ca. 2008 - 2014: initiator and organizer of a reading café in the Maastricht area (took place once a month).
• 2015 - 2019: caretaker of her best friend's mother and father, even after the friend herself passed away. 
• 2015: volunteer with the Celebrate Life Foundation. She joined outings of people who could no longer do so independently.
• 2019 - 2022: caregiver of a mother of a vague acquaintance with Alzheimer's disease (3 half-days per week).

Mr. H.A.J. (Henri) Mulder, 67 years old

Mr. Mulder was committed to the following activities:

• 1990-present: volunteer at and secretary (????-present) of Playground Association 't Baanrakkertje in Heerlen (350 members). He supervises the ten caretakers and twelve members of the handyman group and does maintenance and handyman work himself. He also contributes to organizing and carrying out activities and is a member of various committees (4-8 hours per week).
• 1998 - 2009: volunteer at the soccer club RKHBS in Heerlen (400 members). Involved was trainer, leader and coach of youth and women's teams (5 hours per week).
• 2022-present: volunteer at the Heerlerbaan Neighborhood Development Foundation in Heerlen (SBOH). SBOH's goal is to let the Heerlerbaan neighborhood "remain what it is, and improve the lesser points within it. The person involved is co-organizer of activities on King's Day and the national Outdoor Play Day. It is stated that he is one of the pillars when it comes to social cohesion in the neighborhood (2 hours per week).

Mr. H.J. (Huub) Ortmans, 61 years old

Mr. Ortmans was committed to the following activities:

• 1988-present: volunteer in the Eikenderveld neighborhood. Eikenderveld is the smallest neighborhood of Heerlen with over 2500 inhabitants. Involved person knows everyone and is always there for everyone in the neighborhood and has an eye for the streetscape:
  • On his own initiative, he placed flower boxes at the gates of school. This is to make the entrance to the school and the street more cheerful and to ensure that cars do not park half on the sidewalk to drop off their children at school. He installed the flower boxes at his own expense and maintains the flowers weekly. He also installed the flower boxes at the street lights and maintains these flowers weekly as well;
  • The street is home to the community center Trefcentrum 't Loon. Since the building is no longer under management, the person involved has been working every week to give the building a new purpose that benefits the entire neighborhood. 
  • In addition, in the street Gebroeders Hennenstraat, he prevented a tree from being completely cut down and in its place, on his initiative, a beautiful large wooden artwork was realized;
  • At festivities such as Carnival, European Championships and World Cups, the person involved takes care of decorating the street. In the process, he has provided a flagpole holder for part of the street so that everyone can share in the decoration with flags;
  • Furthermore, the person concerned is ready to help local residents with (technical) jobs.
• 2003 - present: volunteer at the Carnavalsvereniging de Eekheuëre in Heerlen. Involved assists in the construction of the carnival floats and invents the designs. He also designs attributes such as the annual proclamation attribute for the new Prince, headgear and attributes for the parade and the city key that is used during the key transfer from the mayor to the city prince. Furthermore, he was prince (500 hours per year).
• 2015 - 2023: For many years, the individual (along with his sisters) took care of his parents in Bergweide and then also his wife's aunt and uncle.

Mrs. Y.I.T. (Yvonne) Rodenburg-Cierniak, 56 years old

Mrs. Rodenburg-Cierniak devoted herself to the following activities:

• 1988-present: volunteer with the Polish song and dance group Syrena in Brunssum (40 members). Involved person propagates Polish folk culture and acts as artistic director. She leads the weekly rehearsal, trains dancers and devises choreography and singing. She organizes the performances and is responsible for the costumes.
• 2001 - 2010: treasurer of the r.-k. union of Polish associations in the Netherlands ZKPT. Involved co-organized the celebrations of national Polish festivals.
• 2010-present: treasurer of the Polish choir Wesoly Tulacz (50 members). Involved organizes the performances and mans the bar.
• 2015 - present: volunteer at the r.-k. parish of Heerlen-North. Involved washes altar cloths and church vestments. She led the preparation for First Communion and serves as extraordinary minister, where she may give communion to people unable to attend regular Mass.
• 2019 - 2022: volunteer with the Caritas045 Foundation, which cooks healthy meals every week for 2,000 people who cannot afford to pay for it themselves or people who are lonely.